“Presentation is the ‘Killer Skill’ we take into the real world. It’s almost an unfair advantage.” – The McKinsey Mind

1. Clearly state the goal of the presentation on a piece of paper and place it in plain view so I can see it while I am working.  This will help keep me focused while I am working.
2. Brainstorm ideas for the presentation on paper.  Writing on paper makes it easier to leave weak ideas behind and move to stronger ones.  When using the computer to brainstorm sometimes I invest so much time in the process, I won’t let go of flawed ideas.  Write down or draw images and concepts that will help drive home the message.
3. Create a storyboard.   I like to use paper for this, too. It’s easier to start over or move ideas around.
   • Remember to include emotional content, personal connections to content, analogies, anecdotes, etc. in your presentation.  People remember how you made them feel, not what you did for them.
4. Write out the words or descriptions in a word processing or concept map program.
   • One phrase per line
5. Select a color scheme.
6. Create a master template.
   • Microsoft Help Steps
   • PowerPoint 2007 Tutorial
7. Copy and paste words into the presentation program in the outline view
   • Modify so that each phrase is on an individual slide

What is the best way to organize computer files?

This question goes unanswered for most computer users I know.  It’s just something that isn’t addressed.  Every once and a while attempts will be made to move stuff around, but not a lot of thought, planning or structure is either put into the activity or remains after a short while.  Digital clutter can be just as annoying as actual personal clutter.  Not being able to find stuff on your computer is just as paralyzing and wasteful of your precious time.  So, how does one organize all the digital pieces?  Let’s look at a few good ideas from the play book of Getting Things Done by David Allen.

Deciding on topics

How many topics you will have depends on how much information do you have and what is the subject of that information. Just like in GTD each subject should have its own topic in MyInfo. As a general rule, if a topic has more than 100 documents, it is a good idea to split this topic. For example, if you are a hiking enthusiast and your Hiking topics gets more than 100 documents, you can split it into Hiking – Gear & Equipment and Hiking – Routes topics. MyInfo has no limit on how large a topic could be, however very large topics are hard to reorganize and it is not as easy to find the necessary information.

The easiest way to decide how many topics you need is to create them only when they are needed for a particular document. For example, if you encounter a document about traveling and have no topic dedicated on this subject, you create a new Travel topic and put the document there.

Moving information into topics

Your ultimate goal is to move all information scattered on your hard drive in your personal-reference information system. So be sure to check for:

• Documents, brochures, invoices, reports, white papers, software/hardware manuals, and all other files, which are not big enough to deserve their own folder on your hard-drive
• Old e-mail messages in your e-mail client, which hold some future value, but you do not need them currently
• Links in your favorites/bookmark system, which you have not used in a while, but may need in the future
• Instant Messenger (ICQ, AIM, MSN) history and chat logs, which contain some valuable information
• Any other information or small files, that you do use currently, but may do so in the future

- http://www.milenix.com/gtd.php

Mac, Linux and Windows Files

There is a post at ask.metafilter.com that really resonated with me. I use Mac, Linux and Windows, and need to jump from one system to the other.  This post gives some simple perspective:

I use the same structure (and partition, for that matter) for both Linux and Windows:

A partition only for my files. You can start with one directory if you don’t feel like going through the hassle of repartitioning.

One directory for personal, one for work, one for consulting, one for media. Also, one ‘incoming’ directory, where I download everything. If I run out of space, the incoming directory goes first. Anything that hasn’t been categorized is gone. One ‘keep’ directory for things I download that I might need again, and probably won’t be able to find.

Many, many directories under each. For instance: personal/financial/taxes/2004/2004_1040.pdf
media/pics/kids/2005/Nov2005/thanksgiving/

Under Windows, I set the data partition to be my ‘my documents’ directory, and set up all applications to load and save there. Under Linux, I just link a ‘data’ subdirectory under /home/me.

I think the key is to point every application you use to the same place, and never use the defaults. I also find it helpful to create directories for future use, even if they might be empty for some time. Then there is no excuse for being lazy and saving everything in the same place.

I’ve been using the same system for years, and it is very easy to upgrade, switch operating systems, restore from backup, etc.

- posted by bh at 7:46 PM on November 27, 2005

For further discussion, check out the How To Organize Computer Files discussion at DavidCo.com.  There are many perspectives to consider.  Remember there are many great ways to organize and as with any system, stay with it is key.  Develop your own and improve your organization.  Good Luck!

Why do we present the way we do?  Can we present slides better? Smarter?  Nancy Duarte has written an incredible book about the ins and outs of good slide presentation.  A great practical blend of science and art.  Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations

Listen to the Author

Slide:ology Presentation by the Author

Example of Dot Presentation

Now Make One for Yourself

Sir Ken Robinson is author of Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative, and a leading expert on innovation and human resources. In this talk, he makes an entertaining (and profoundly moving) case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it. (Recorded February, 2006 in Monterey, CA.) – TED.com

I watched Wade Davis’ Cultures on the Edge presentation yesterday and it has impacted me tremendously. I in one fell swoop have changed my view of story telling and it necessity in the world. Wade is a persuasive and polished presenter. His simple stand and deliver approach is understated and modest but the images and words blast right into your soul. His understanding of the cultures is inspiring and will leave a lasting impression on all who watch. A must see!

With stunning photos and stories, National Geographic Explorer Wade Davis celebrates the extraordinary diversity of the world’s cultures, and argues passionately for the preservation of the “ethnosphere.” (Recorded February 2003 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 22:44) – TED.com

Imagine a widely used and expensive prescription drug that promised to make us beautiful but didn’t. Instead the drug had frequent, serious side effects: It induced stupidity, turned everyone into bores, wasted time, and degraded the quality and credibility of communication. These side effects would rightly lead to a worldwide product recall.
Taken from WIRED; PowerPoint Is Evil. Power Corrupts. PowerPoint Corrupts Absolutely. By Edward Tufte

Ouch You’re Hurting My Brain

Let’s look at our audience. A good presenter should know their audience. Last time I noticed, I was presenting to humans. John Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory details the limitations of the human mind to hold discrete pieces of information in short-term memory. Explore more of John Sweller’s take on PowerPoint and it’s limitations in the PresentationZen.com post, Is it finally time to ditch PowerPoint? It is a must read.

Supposedly, phone numbers are only 7 digits long because the mind can only hold seven pieces of information in short term memory, plus or minus two numbers depending on other variables according to George A. Miller . There are strategies like “Chunking“, an idea that we can more efficiently use short-term memory, but in general we are limited by what we can absorb in a short period of time. Something to consider when presenting to homo sapiens.

Limitation By Design

I know when I started working with PowerPoint I was excited to build beautiful templates and have all kinds of cool effects happen during slide transitions. Getting the ornate 3D charts and graphs to represent my data seemed like the thing to do. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out this wizardry just to find out that it actually distracts from my presentation’s message. The templates are worse for your presentation than starting with a simple plain layout.

Stand and Deliver

Forgive me, I have sinned. I used to “talk to my slides” during presentation. Reading them word for word is the ultimate way to kill your audience’s interest in your topic. How we interact with the information on the screen can either add or detract from the colors, fonts and images in the slides. Kathy Sierra details great advice and cites resources to improve presentations in her blog entry; Stop your presentation before it kills again! Something else to consider, we are emotional creatures. Use this in your presentation. Seth Godin comments in his post, Really Bad PowerPoint supports this; no emotion, no connection.

The “Do My Slides Suck” Test from Kathy Sierra

1. Do your slides contain mostly bullet points?
2. Do you have more than 12-15 words on a slide?
3. Do your slides add little or no new info beyond what you can say in words?
4. Are your slides, in fact, not memorable?
5. Are your slides emotionally empty?
6. Do your slides fail to encourage a deeper connection to or understanding of the topic?
7. Do your slides distort the data? (That’s a whooooole different thing I’m not addressing now)
8. Do your slides encourage cognitive weakness? (refer to Tufte)

Learn From The Best

Some of the best presenters are Lawrence Lessig, Guy Kawasaki, Seth Godin, and Dick Hardt. Examine their approaches.

Example Presentations

Lawrence Lessig Presentation on Free Culture

Dick Hardt inspired by Lessig presented the OSCON 2005 Keynote – Identity 2.0.
Seth Godin Presentation Example
Guy Kawasaki 10 – 20 -30 Rule Presentation

The Tools

Microsoft PowerPoint
Apple Keynote
Open Office Impress

Alternatives

Convert your slide show into MindManager presentation, a completely different way to see the information based on mind mapping. Craig Pringle explains good rationale for this in his post; Ditch PowerPoint for Presentations.

Final Thoughts

Read the blog entry Marketing should be education, education should be marketing at Passionate Users. This puts teaching and the job teachers need to pull off in a better context.